This BBQ Shepherds Pie with Chickpeas and Lentils is a wonderful vegan holiday main dish. It’s hearty and cozy, and great for any occasion that calls for comfort food.
This BBQ Shepherds with Chickpeas and Lentils is one of my all-time favorite meals! If you’re like me and love putting BBQ sauce on your mashed potatoes, this meal is for you. If you’re cringing right now at the thought of BBQ sauce and mashed potatoes, this meal might not be your favorite, haha 🙂
In the past years, I’ve slacked on offering vegetarian holiday main dishes, and I’m making up for that this year. Around Thanksgiving, I posted these Vegan Lentil Meatloaf Cups, and now I’m sharing with you this BBQ Shepherd’s Pie with Chickpeas and Lentils. It’s also great for a non-holiday main dish, too!
BBQ Shepherds Pie with Chickpeas and Lentils Recipe Ingredients
- Russet potatoes
- Vegan butter
- Almond milk – You can use your favorite non-dairy milk; be sure it’s unsweetened.
- Olive oil
- Vegetables – I used carrots, celery, and yellow onion.
- Chickpeas – You can use either homemade or canned chickpeas, which should be drained and rinsed.
- Lentils – I used canned lentils, drained and rinsed. You can also use about 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils if you can’t find them canned. If you prefer to use only lentils or chickpeas, feel free!
- BBQ sauce – Make your own or use your favorite kind.
- Salt and black pepper
- Fresh herbs – For garnish, if desired.
How To Make This BBQ Shepherd’s Pie
- Peel the potatoes and dice them. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Put the pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are fork-tender, about 20 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and place them back into the pot. Add the butter, almond milk, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside until ready to use.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil, diced onion, carrot, and celery. Cook veggies until tender, about 10 minutes. Next, add the chickpeas, lentils, and BBQ sauce and stir together.
- Pour the vegetable and chickpea/lentil mixture into a medium-sized oven-safe pan and top with the mashed potatoes. Make sure to spread the potatoes in an even layer that covers the entire top.
- Bake the shepherd’s pie until everything is heated through, about 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh herbs before serving, if desired.
Recipe Tips and Thoughts
- I used chickpeas and lentils in this version because I found some canned lentils, which made the process easier. But you’re more than welcome to use only chickpeas or only lentils if you like.
- This is a great recipe to freeze in a freezer-safe container (for up to three months).
- This recipe is vegan and gluten-free.
- Store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days.
- This vegan shepherd’s pie is hearty, delicious, and comforting. It’s perfect for those cold winter nights when you want to curl up on the couch with a warm blanket and a warm bowl of food 🙂
Have a question about this recipe? Ask me in the comments, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.
Looking For More Vegetarian Comfort Food?
High-Protein Tofu and Black Bean Enchilada Skillet
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BBQ Shepherds Pie with Chickpeas and Lentils
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
This delicious and filling shepherds pie is a wonderful vegan main dish!
Ingredients
- 2 large russet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 1 1/2 cups diced celery
- 1/2 diced yellow onion
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15 ounce) can lentils, drained and rinsed (or about 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils if you can’t find them canned)
- 1 cup BBQ sauce, your favorite kind
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Fresh herbs for garnish, if desired
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and dice them. Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Put the pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until fork tender, about 20 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and place them back into the pot. Add the butter, almond milk and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside until ready to use.
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil, diced onion, carrot and celery. Cook veggies until tender, about 10 minutes. Next, add the chickpeas, lentils and BBQ sauce and stir together.
- Pour the vegetable and chickpea/lentil mixture into a medium sized oven safe pan and top with the mashed potatoes. Make sure to spread the potatoes in an even layer that is covering the entire top.
- Bake shepherds pie until everything is heated through, about 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh herbs before serving, if desired.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Dinner, Vegan, Gluten Free
You may also enjoy: Vegan Lentil Meatloaf Cups
I made this tonight for supper and really enjoyed it. I used chickpeas and lentils but wished I had mashed the chickpeas first. Overall though super comfort food with simple ingredients.
That would be a good idea to mash the chickpeas! I was going to re-make this recipe and possibly do some tweaking soon and that would be good!
Hi, are we supposed to put dry lentils in the oven to cook, or should we cook them separately (according to package) and then add to the mix?
Yes, cook them separately! You can even used canned or pre-cooked packaged lentils!
Hi there! I’m unable to find canned lentils. When you say 1 & 1/2 cup do you mean cooked lentils or dry?
Cooked!
Delicious! I used some frozen peas instead of lentils only because I had them and it sounded like a good combo, but left everything else the same. I will definitely make it again!
So nice to hear!
This looks yummy. Do you use brown lentils?
Thank you! Yes, I do 🙂
Hi, I am new here. I haven’t tried this yet and I’m not even vegetarian, but my aunt and cousin are. They are coming to my mom’s from way out of town for Easter weekend, so I thought I would try to make them something besides the side dishes since the main dish will be ham. It looks so good that I may even eat some myself!
Are there any recommendations for a good BBQ sauce that isn’t too expensive and gluten-free?
Thanks,
Jen
Hi Jen, I think most BBQ sauce is actually gluten free but it should say for sure on the back of the bottle. I used to love Sweet Baby Rays brand but it does have high fructose corn syrup. I don’t really have a favorite now but usually just look for one without high fructose corn syrup that looks kind of authentic. I hope that helps!
I bought Hunt’s (no bias there, lol) because it was on sale and I didn’t see anything in the ingredients that should contain gluten. I think it should be fine though.
Thank you for the help!
Best,
Jen
Glad you found one! I hope you enjoy 🙂
Do you think this would taste ok with sweet potato instead of russet, or would that taste gross with the barbeque sauce?
I think it would! But I love sweet potatoes with pretty much anything haha 🙂
This is how I make it! I use sweet potatoes, double the chickpeas because I can never find lentils, and use a BBQ sauce with relatively less sugar than the others on the shelf (just out of personal preference for less refined sugar in my diet).
It’s AMAZING! I have to force myself to not meal prep it every week when it’s cold because I don’t want to wear out the recipe. I’m honestly not sure I can wear it out though. LOVE!
I have made this a few times now and it is SO. GOOD.
Yah! So glad to hear you like it! 🙂
Could you freeze this?
Yes! Just put in a freezer friendly container and freeze up to 3 months 🙂
This was delicious! We did add some organic ground beef to it, but we loved the flavors!!
I’m so glad you liked it!! 🙂
This looks so good Izzy. I think I could get behind BBQ sauce in a shepherds pie. Sounds like a logical and delicious winter-y pairing to me. Hope you have a lovely holiday season!